North Korea recently declared a preventive nuclear strike permissible, and fears of renewed nuclear weapons tests have been growing ever since. Now the South Korean and US navies are practicing together off the Korean coast.
A day after a North Korean missile test, South Korea and the US have started their first joint naval exercise in five years off the Korean coast. The aim of the maneuver is to demonstrate "the strong will of the US-South Korean alliance to respond to North Korean provocations," the South Korean Navy said.
More than 20 ships and various aircraft will take part in the four-day exercise and practice anti-ship and submarine operations, tactical maneuvers and other operations. Washington is Seoul's most important military ally. Around 28,500 US soldiers are currently stationed in South Korea.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was sworn in in May, would like to increase the number of joint maneuvers with the United States in view of the ongoing tensions with Pyongyang. The exercise that has now begun is intended to "deter North Korea from threats with nuclear weapons and missiles," the South Korean Defense Ministry said.
In August, the United States and South Korea launched their largest joint military exercises since 2018. The maneuvers had previously been scaled back because of the diplomatic rapprochement between Washington and Pyongyang and the Covid 19 pandemic.
The day before the exercises, North Korea had tested another ballistic missile. Since the beginning of the year, North Korea, which is internationally isolated and subject to numerous sanctions, has tested more weapon systems than ever before.
On September 9, the authoritarian country published a law declaring a pre-emptive nuclear strike permissible. Pyongyang also ruled out nuclear disarmament in the country. South Korea and the United States fear that Pyongyang could test nuclear weapons for the first time since 2017.
